A Russian rocket launched Monday, April 24, is carrying the first of three small, spherical satellites developed at MIT to the International Space Station — a major step toward building space-based robotic telescopes and other systems.
The MIT SPHERES project — the acronym stands for Synchronized Position Hold Engage Re-orient Experimental Satellites — involves satellites about the size of volleyballs that are designed to float weightless in space while maintaining a precise posi
Researchers at the MUHC in Montreal have documented a severe case of internal hemorrhaging in a patient that drank chamomile tea and used chamomile lotion while taking anti-coagulant medication for a heart condition. The 70-year old patient was admitted to the MUHC ER in Montreal after using chamomile to help soothe her sore throat. The case published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) this week, highlights the need for caution when taking alternative (natural) therapies while on ph
New York University’s Alexej Jerschow, an assistant professor of chemistry, and Norbert Müller, a professor of chemistry at the University of Linz in Austria, have developed a completely non-invasive imaging method. Their work offers the benefits of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while eliminating patients’ exposure to irradiation and setting the stage for the creation of light, mobile MRI technology. The research, which appears in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academ
Findings shed light on mechanism of condition associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have shown, for the first time, that blocking the action of a critical protein can improve multiple inflammatory pathways in patients with the metabolic syndrome – a cluster of symptoms associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. If supported in future studies, the findings may suggest new strategies
The Unique Protein Responsible for Werner’s Syndrome Aids Research in Cancer and Aging
Contact: Paul Preuss, (510) 486-6249, paul_preuss@lbl.gov
A team of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Scripps Research Institute has determined the crystal structure and molecular mechanisms of a key part of WRN, a protein that protects humans from premature aging and cancer.
When the gene for WRN is defective the result is Werner’
Pinpointing cause of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) will accelerate development of treatments for FOP and common bone disorders
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have located the “skeleton key,” a gene that, when damaged, causes the body’s skeletal muscles and soft connective tissue to undergo a metamorphosis into bone, progressively locking joints in place and rendering movement impossible. Identifying the gene that causes fibrod
Findings may also shed light on ’choice defecit’ disorders, such as eating disorders, compulsive gambling, & drug abuse
Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) report in the April 23 issue of Nature that they have identified neurons that encode the values that subjects assign to different items. The activity of these neurons might facilitate the process of decision-making that occurs when someone chooses between different goods.
“We have long known that d
Not all biological weapons are created equal. They are separated into categories A through C, category A biological agents being the scariest: They are easy to spread, kill effectively and call for special actions by the pubic health system. One of these worrisome organisms is anthrax, which has already received its fair share of media attention. But work in Vince Fischetti’s laboratory at Rockefeller University suggests that a newly discovered protein could be used to fight anthrax infections
chronic illness, mental health problems go unchecked
Already displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, thousands of families in FEMA-subsidized temporary housing in Louisiana are facing a second crisis, according to a new study issued today by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and The Children’s Health Fund. The study found this displaced group is suffering from a host of serious medical and mental health problems, but receiving little or no treatment
Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have developed a new method for analyzing the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) of the human genome. This large region, found on chromosome 6, encodes more than 400 known genes. The best known of these genes are the HLA genes that govern tissue type and participate in the immune system by protecting people from infection or by governing susceptibility to autoimmune diseases or cancer.
The researchers’ new lab method is descri
The complex patterns of tropical forest structure demand more complex explanations
As global change accelerates, quantifying the role of forests in the carbon cycle becomes ever more urgent. Modelers seek simple predictors of forest biomass and carbon flux. Over the last decade, the theory of metabolic ecology generated testable explanations, derived from physical and biochemical principles, for a wide range of ecological patterns. However, in two Ecology Letters articles, Hele
The depths of space are much closer to home following the University of Alberta’s acquisition of a meteorite that is the only one of its kind known to exist on Earth! What makes it so rare? The meteorite is ’pristine’ – that is, still frozen and uncontaminated – and so provides an invaluable preserved record of material from when the solar system formed 4.57 billion years ago.
The Tagish Lake Meteorite is carbonaceous chondrite and, as such, represents primitive materia
Findings could lead to new therapeutic approaches to a major disease
According to the new study, the presence of caspase-12, which appears to modulate inflammation and innate immunity in humans, increases the body’s “vulnerability to bacterial infection and septic shock” while a deficiency confers strong resistance to sepsis. This new discovery suggests that caspase-12 antagonists could be a potentially useful in the treatment of sepsis and other inflammatory and immune di
Researchers of the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville)have started a project based on the study of phenotype techniques in mice and their applicability to the pharmaceutical industry and neurodegenerative medicine. It is a research conducted by the group ‘División de Neurociencias’, led by José María Delgado, that focuses on the development of new techniques for studying the behaviour and physiology of wild and transgenic mice’s nervous system.
The goal of this Excellence Project, funde
Andalusian researchers from the University of Huelva, the University of Seville, the Instituto de la Grasa of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Corporación Alimentaria Peñasanta have produced an emulsion similar to mayonnaise with buttermilk, or whey butter, obtained as a by-product when milk is skimmed. It is a research line resulting from the Spanish PETRI project (it stands for ‘Proyecto Estímulo Transferencia Resultado de Investigación’, project to encourage the transfer of res
A team of Control Engineering researchers at the Public University of Navarra has successfully finalised their work on QFT Multivariable Robust Control of Darwin-type Satellites with large flexible structures, undertaken for the European Space Agency (ESA).
The scientists have designed a new automatic control system capable of governing the Darwin Project satellite telescopes.
The Darwin Project
The European Space Agency is currently developing what is known as the Darw
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